Homeschool laws in Illinois
Checked Oct 11, 2026 against 5 sources · General information, not legal advice.
Your Illinois to-do
Nothing to file with Illinois. Teach, and keep your own simple records.
Homepen turns this into reminders and ready-to-send letters, and counts your days and hours.
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What Illinois asks
Illinois treats a home school as a private school: you must teach language arts, math, biological and physical science, social science, fine arts, and physical development and health in English, at a level at least equal to public school. There is no registration, no required number of days or hours, no testing and no reports, though the state board recommends telling your child's current school in writing when you withdraw and keeping good records.
School age: Ages 6–16. From age 6 (by September 1) until the 17th birthday: the law covers children "between the ages of 6 (on or before September 1) and 17 years" and treats 17-year-olds as not of compulsory school age. Children who already graduated from high school are not covered.
Home school (private school)
105 ILCS 5/26-1(1); People v. Levisen, 404 Ill. 574 (1950) · Level 1: Very light
- Notice: none required
- Time: no set days or hours
- Subjects: language arts, math, science, social science, fine arts, health
- Assessment: none required
- Records: none required by the law
All the details
- Notice
- No notice to file
- Time
- No set number of days or hours
- Subjects
- all instruction in English
- language arts
- mathematics
- biological and physical science
- social science (social studies)
- fine arts
- physical development and health
- Assessment
- No assessment required
- Portfolio
- Not required
- Reports
- No reports to send
- Records to keep
- No records required by the law
- Teacher
- No credential or diploma is set by law; under People v. Levisen (1950) the teacher (a parent or a tutor) must be competent.
How Homepen helps
Homepen counts your days and hours as you tick lessons, and makes: Attendance & hours report, Report card, Course descriptions, High-school transcript, Year-end summary.
Sources
- 105 ILCS 5/26-1 (compulsory school age; exemptions) · Statute · checked Oct 11, 2026
- 105 ILCS 5/26-2 (enrolled pupils not of compulsory school age) · Statute · checked Oct 11, 2026
- Illinois State Board of Education: Homeschool · State education agency · checked Oct 11, 2026
- ISBE: Illinois Homeschooling (printable version of the homeschool page, PDF) · State education agency · checked Oct 11, 2026
- ISBE: Questions you may have on Illinois Home Schooling (FAQ, revised October 2017, PDF) · State education agency · checked Oct 11, 2026
General information, not legal advice. Laws change: we check every source at least every 6 months and before each school year. If something looks wrong, tell us. The state agency for homeschooling questions is the Illinois State Board of Education.
Keep your Illinois records without the paperwork
Plan the week, tick lessons, and Homepen keeps the days, hours and portfolio Illinois asks for.
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